…feeling REmOTE…

My name is Antler. And I will not be part of the world. not this world . Not anymore

One of the opening lines from this year’s beautiful , bold NTC play.

I love National Theatre Connections I love the Creative Passion of it all.

No where else can you get such a broad diversity of Youth engaged in such noble arty pursuit – to act with such a grander communal purpose.

This is our 3rd foray into the NTC Festival for Youth . The 1st “memorable” , the 2nd “outstanding” and now for REMOTE by Stef Smith.

This year also marks the 20th anniversary of the NT Festival which began back in 1995.

And we have our first choice of play – REMOTE. Oh I love a one word title – so catchy , so succinct.

REMOTE! Or REmOTE as I like to spell it – you can see I’ve taken a little creative license with the letter here , because I think the ” m” matters for now , in the bigger picture .

There used to be a bit of a standing joke , among those that never really understood DRAMA ..a joke that went something like:

” oh drama …is that being a tree …?!!” ( giggle giggle )

Well guess what jokers …this year , this epically ,free- form ‘poetic’ year , we are going to be like a tree… but with real dramatic difference!

To ‘be’ a tree is more than to stand and sway and move your arms in contorted direction ; to be an NTC tree is to grow with unending branches , to bend but not to break , to root and ground , to stand head and shoulders above the rest and to draw the envious eye ever higher.

Who wouldn’t ever want “to be a tree” in drama?

Stef Smith offers us here the theatrical opportunity to reach beyond our perceived expectations and to naturally evolve as one cast , one voice , one hope for the future.

The Guffin may have given us London. Heritage undoubtedly gave us acting back and REmOTE ? Maybe this play will give us all ” a brighter , more worthy future ”

Because this is a play with a social conscience, a heart and perhaps a more human insight into the state of our ” ageless ” soul.

REMOTE is as relevant for me as it is for you , for parents and children , for neighbours and friends , for those we know and those we have yet to meet.

It’s message is universal.

Described by the playwright as ” one long moment ”

As if we stop, take a breath, and in that moment ” the world changes ” just for then , in that surreal pause we call – stage play.

To herself ?
To the world ?
To anybody who will care to hear how she cries ?

This is a play that begs questions about our own existence.

Funny how Connection’s plays always end up questioning the very things we take for granted – like the drama they force us to leave behind in favour of better , more truthful stage performances.

Back to childhood again , to find the real YOU.

I won’t pretend that you won’t have to use your brain here , nor will I apologise for it.

Any good actor is an intelligent one, because with extra effort they have so many more doors to open on stage.

REmOTE is intelligently written in an unpretentious way. It stretches you without over-complicating things.

It moves you to think and that is good for Youth; and when you are young you don’t want words , you want action . These words make you want to act.

I think what I like most about this play is that, anything is possible – there is no paddock to contain us here , no door to have to go through this time.

There is only a big TREE to climb , and that , as we all should know, can lead to a pot of gold , somewhere out beyond the bright possible yonder .

Now for practicalities:

On confirmation from you (of your interest in this year’s NT Connections project) – you will receive an email containing a very short introductory script extract and a series of loosely text related questions to answer, along with a practical task to complete before Sunday’s BRANCH 1 workshops (Just enough to get “the little grey cells” firing ).

Might as well start as we mean to go on , and that means ‘home work’; the Extra ‘stuff’ that make Connections Projects begin long before rehearsals ever start, to prepare you I guess, for the road less travelled ahead..

However,after reading this , if you think it’s not for you yet; maybe you are unsure of the commitment or anxious if you can handle this degree of performance focus? Please don’t worry..just let us know and we will take you off the possible ” leaves ” list.

You will have to have good basic focus and concentration for this experience , pro-like energy levels goes without saying , but I also need people who ‘care’- more than anything – and definitely those that care to speak , to voice opinion , to offer ideas and who question naturally .

Those who ” in a stage nut shell ” want to learn and grow – and yes , the old adage seems appropriate here “from tiny acorns mighty oaks will grow”

This play does not need sheep, it demands reactionaries!

REmOTE as quoted is all about : protest , power and protecting yourself

If you have nothing to say how can you act here ? How will your performance make a difference in the grand scheme of NTC things?

(Pause for dramatic effect)

Before some of you now switch off your iPad , iPhone , iLifes – know this : NTC can change your life , it can give you that voice you never had , a belief in the power of your own ability , a more meaningful place in the heart of PACE.

But you have to take the first step :

Lock

Open

Handle

Door

push

Step. One foot

Then the other …

Not another door metaphor surely?

No just a way forward…

( breath )

Determined ?

( breath and reach up )

Onwards and upwards PACE!

See you back in Spires 1
X

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16 Responses to …feeling REmOTE…

I am absolutely head over heels in love with this years NTC play, "REmOTE". I love Stef Smith's style of writing, especially in this text, it reels me in with quick jibes, meaningful verse, and inspiring phrase. I cannot wait to see this text come to life. Makes me want to throw away my phone and run off, climb into a tree and stay there!
"Sorry but there is only room for one up here. Only room for me." - Antler, "Remote" by Stef Smith
Mark x

This blog has left me shaking with anticipation for Branch 1 of the process! I think Stef Smith's writing is absoloutely incredible and this play is so thought provoking it makes my brain hurt. So many interesting characters that I know will be planted in Spires 1 and grow to be beautiful tall trees by the first home shows in The Wynd. Can't wait to see this project grow.
Erin x

Connections is a project that makes you so excited & once the blogs start arriving about it then it becomes so hard to contain the excitement.
Connections is so amazing.I helped stage manage both shows for connections and even as that it helps you so much on and off makes you more confident.Gives you more a feel for theatre culture opens you're eyes to the world of theatre and how it resolves around so much.
I can't wait for connections to start this year.
Connections is a project that gives us directions
Gives us the chance to dance about freely on stage
to become the tree or not to be come the tree that is the question
let you’re expression run free.Show the new world what you are capable of.It can change so much in a strange way but the most amazing way

I had to read this blog twice to take it all in it has left me so eager, so ready to know more this project sounds incredible, thought provoking and I'm anticipating finding out more about such an interesting play. I can hardly express my excitement, let the trees grow.

The question of our existence is something that for years i have debated with various willing teachers - much to the class' annoyance - so this is so exciting! The world is completely unexplainable and i love it! So much mystery, so much we can learn, so many ways we can grow, the possibilities are endless, and so many directions we can go if we really do 'care' ... I can't wait to hear everyone else's perspectives on this. I think this is going to be special, let us plant our own trees and watch them grow! See you all there!
Cat x

I am not going to even pardon my excitement for how well written this play is. You mentioned that the messages are conveyed clearly without being pretentious, and i do believe this is shown very apparently in the text. It does not complicate nor undermine the protagonists understanding of the world. Of her understandable views and things that anger and frustrate her, no matter how small, which many of us seem to suppress. We get to a stage in our lives where our fixation and fascination on trying to fix the world begins to cease and we accept that this is the way things are.But for those few who refuse to let go, this play's for them.
This play is loved because we do care. Because we all know how it feels to be curious about the world, want to know, wish we could take time just to stop and listen to all the street noise and the bustle and the quite and the wind. To stop and just awe at the world, at all it holds.
You can tell this play is only going to work if the players truly care.
I think the thing i most love, is the fact our protagonist does not feel the need to air her moral prejudices on the world. She wants to be one with it, wants to understand it fully. To take time out of being a person, as she doesn't want to be clouded by her approval or disapproval. She wants to be as carefree and succumbing as the tree she hides in.
But that's the thing about hiding up a tree, nothing stops moving on the ground. Things just keep going, whether you feel like it or not.
As this year has taught me, Connections is not a project that can be entered without full heart, without passion, without a want. I think these are the things that kept me going through this. Although lack of inhibition, great voice work and thick skin are necessary, you cannot be saved here unless you know there is no place you would rather be. Unless you are willing to face all of the problems and struggles and everything that is holding you back. It forced me to be comfortable with myself, and no matter how many tears, or fights, or notes on clarity i endured. None of it can compare to the good that this project gives you if you truly care. I am auditioning again this year because now i know that whatever you have to go through, go through it, because god is it worth it.
"It is in books, poems, paintings which often give us the confidence to take seriously feelings in ourselves that we might otherwise never have thought to acknowledge.” -Alain de Botton
See you on Sunday, Carla x

Carla Cochrane is someone to listen to if you are in two minds about undertaking this very difficult but highly rewarding Connections journey - her understanding of this bespoke project is borne from a truer experience.
Phoenix like , she flies now on better performance wings, but is first to admit she battled hard to stay , every step of the way , during the very intensive Heritage rehearsal process.
At times she probably wanted to give up and even at show-time was still facing personal drama demons that threatened to hold her and her cast down - some how she triumphed - and her final Lycuem Performance was quite simply a work of "Connections" art
I took an outside chance on Carla in the audition process last year . I saw something " raw and exciting " in her stage energy . Something that means more sometimes than going with "who you know" . I never regret that decision - I never regret playing unsafe with her . I did the same with Blair Stobie in The Guffin and it took us all the way to a very cool weird NT London SHED.
Sometimes Connections brings on the most wonderful undiscovered talent. It is a platform for difference ,for tenacity and edge !for those that wait silently in the wings waiting for a branch to swing off and into our vision
Carla is right though - NT Connections as a creative process can change you "for good" , but you need to really want to change - more than anything - and you need to be strong enough to handle what will inevitably come your way - it is not going to be an easy ride - it's going to get so you won't see the trees for the dnse Wood that surrounds you.
But...if that's exciting , if that's a challenge you will embrace whole heartedly
See you in the forest
X

Thank you for this Mhairi. Although i knew my journey had faults and stumbles, which i would admit openly to anyone, it is lovely to hear the positive parts told. The ones we need to remember. The things that sometimes can be left behind, and that i have made a considerable attempt to retain. To know it does not have to have a perfect story to be an interesting one. I would, of course be more than happy to share my experience and perhaps advice on this to anyone curious to what ntc may entail for them, given they are granted the opportunity to take part in it. i suppose the best thing i could say, and something i kept very close to my heart during the toughest days would be "And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music"
Thank you for reminding me why to not give up.

The extract of the script I read is truly outstanding. I'm so excited to see what piece of art is created this year. The pictures on Pinterest have really got me thinking. I love the abstract names of our characters and the style of writing the Stef Smith has chosen. What an interesting play this shall be.

The first thing I saw of this blog was the picture. The scrip full of notes and ideas, and the skull; the object of drama. Really excited about this and by the looks of it, with everybody's eager replies, they are too. The national theatre YouTube page holds a video of Stef, she gives you taste of "REmOTE". Can't wait for Sunday to arrive, where we can show our focus and willing-ness to unravel our opinions.

Will I apologize for my excitement, of course not. REmOTE is most definitely up my street, why and how we exist are question i bombard my friends with. To get to ask and answer questions with people who are wondering the same thing, to get different opinions, is something I would love. Besides our existence I do ask a lot of other (weird to most perhaps) questions, like the supernatural and what happens after we die?
Again this is right up my street and my curiosity is going crazy.
Megan x

Crazy you say?
Maybe I am
Crazy to venture past
life as a lamb
There's beauty and magic
And love in this life
But who could ignore
All the suffering and strife?
Some children are dying
With nothing to eat
While their suffering continues
to fund the elite
The 20 with 80 per cent
Of the wealth,
Who never shall struggle or
Fight for their health.
And that isn't all,
It's far from the truth
What about those who
Were robbed of their youth?
Little girls forced to marry
Not permitted to think
You can't read or write when
You're chained to a sink
Everyday people die
In the fight for a fraud.
Their wonderful, all loving
Gay-hating god
And some fight for freedom,
Terrorists they say
Terrorising the innocent
US and UK
Disasters do happen
Which is only a curse,
But it's okay to use them
To thicken your purse
I refuse to take part
In a world where it's fine
That nothing is our's
And everything's mine
Where instead of thinking of
Mouths we can feed
We dumb ourselves down and
Indulge in our greed
I apologise truly
For making you sad.
I'm sorry it seems that I
Only see bad
But open your eyes!
Look all around
Our world's not a
magical merry go round.
Humanity's hope is to
Wake up and see,
Perhaps their should be more
As crazy as me.